Concrete cows and Rollright Stones

For the umpteenth time the concrete cows of Milton Keynes have been “amusingly repainted” – or vandalised if you prefer. On the one hand many people (including the local MP) have praised what has been done and on the other, repairs will cost £2,000 and the police are treating it as criminal damage.

So what’s the answer? If it’s good enough is it no longer vandalism? And if it’s in a good cause and no damage is done is brandalism OK?

We tend towards the “never OK” camp on the grounds that if you erode respect for monuments in general you increase the likelihood that someone will pick up a paintbrush where it REALLY matters. Surely guardians of places like The Long Man of Wilmington who recently allowed this can see that? What happens in Sussex won’t necessarily stay in Sussex.

3 comments

I wonder if there ought not to be be more investigation of the motivation for such behaviour if it’s not to be just labeled ‘mindless’ vandalism, as though that explained everything.

In fact, there’s probably some academic studies mouldering away in the archives: if only we could understand the many and various reasons why people particularly need to deface ancient monuments (let alone any other property), then perhaps we can start to engage in a dialogue that begins to address the possibility of mitigating such behaviour in future.